Krunchie

Where are you from? Clonmel, Ireland. Home of Magners cider!How long have you been DJ’ing? About 5 years on vinyl only back in the late 90’s and decided to get back into it near the end of 2015, got a controller and quickly moved onto XDJs and now have now graduated to CDJs…. still have all my old records so got a set of PLX1000’s too.

What got you into being a DJ? I always had a love of music from a very early age, and the timing just seemed right for me back in the 90’s with so much great music around – I wanted to be able to share it with everyone. After hanging up my headphones for a few years, the passion for music never died down and I couldn’t ignore it anymore so decided to get back into it. So, as I am working abroad digital was the easiest solution for me initially and I found myself back in the thick of it again in no time. Eager to learn all the new technology that had developed…it was a far cry from vinyl and at the time CDJ 500s in a club were big news!

When was your first exposure to electronic music? My first real taste of underground electronic music was back in the early 90’s when Greg Downing and Shane Johnson played a rave in my home town (a few years later they became Fish Go Deep). This had a profound effect on me and immediately I was hooked on the sound. The name of this particular night was “KRUNCHIE” and this is where I took my dj alias from. I am still a big follower of theirs now and saw them most recently in 2015 in Waterford, and funnily enough it was quite close to that time when I had gotten back to DJing.

Who are your musical influences? Back in the early days, my main influences would have been Dave Clarke, Green Velvet, Luke Slater, Richie Hawtin, Jeff Mills, to name a few. While I still listen to all of these artists now, I am more deep and tech house orientated and I really rate the likes of Maceo Plex, Frank Weidemann, Stephan Bodzin, Pan-Pot, Bicep, Claude Von Stroke, Claptone, Dense & Pika, Nick Curly, Mano Le Tough, Ian Pooley, Gerd Jansen, Kerri Chandler, Josh Butler, Maya Jane Coles, &ME (and the whole Keinemusic crew)…..the list could go on for a while but I’ll stop it there.

What parties are you playing at this year? I have a few small parties planned, and hoping to be able to get a monthly house night off the ground in a few months. Facebook live is calling too!

What were your favourite parties you’ve played at? One of my favourite recent sets was at SkyLounge, Bahrain and I was opening for Paul Hamilton. It’s the best underground house club in Bahrain and the set went really well. And the party once I was finished was great too, Paul played an amazing set.

Do you produce your own music? Yes, I have a few projects in the pipeline at present and am also enrolled on a production course with Point Blank London. I am laying the foundations now for a big year in 2018 – watch this space..

Are you signed to a record label? Not yet, but I have been in discussions with an independent label.

Do you ever play live or do you just DJ? At the moment I don’t play live but it is one of the things I am extremely interested in. Before I started the production course, one of my end goals was to be able to play a set live in Ableton. There is something about a live set that engages with the crowd that bit more than djing alone, but that can depend on the venue and your own energy too.

Who are some live acts that inspire you? Apart from the usual suspects like Chemical Brothers, Orbital, Underworld, Octave One etc. My Ableton instructor in Point Blank is SAYTEK Live (well worth checking out of you haven’t heard of him) and he plays mostly hardware, but there are loads of producers that only play live sets and don’t dj at all. The best combination I believe is being able to do both.

Who were the 3 most influential artists of last year? Kerri Chandler, &ME, Carl Cox

If you could go to one gig tonight where would you go? Unfortunately I have never been, so it would have to be Sankeys, Manchester.

What can we expect from you this year? More quality sets, and hoping to go live later in the year. Some original releases and remixes are also on the cards.

What would you say the single most vital piece of tech is? In my view, the most vital thing to a dj/producer is their brain, which is followed closely by their ears. No tech can make up for them.

What is that thing that most people don’t know about you? I suppose one of the things that not many people would know is that I used to row at national level many years ago, and that I also have a masters degree in business.

If you could give any advice to young DJ’s just starting to get into DJ’ing what would it be? It doesn’t matter what kind of gear you have, buy the best you can afford. Play the music you like, real fans will engage for your own style and not what the beatport top 10 tracks happen to be at any particular time.